


Consequences

by hquinzelle



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, tasertricks - Freeform, this is not a happy story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:17:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1202566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hquinzelle/pseuds/hquinzelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki and Darcy's relationship seemed to be going well, and he wanted to take it to the next level.  Over the last two months, however, something had changed, and he wasn't sure what it was until he overheard a phone conversation, and his suspicions were confirmed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Consequences

**Author's Note:**

  * For [becisvolatile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/becisvolatile/gifts).



> I wrote this for becisvolatile, who put a prompt on her Tumblr a few days ago that she wanted to read about Loki finding out Darcy has played him and been unfaithful. Wrath or angst. I did some rewrites this morning to address some characterization flaws I didn't mean to create, hopefully it worked.

_Consequences are unpitying – George Eliot_

* * *

Loki first noticed the change in Darcy two months ago. 

The two of them had been together for almost three years, and everything seemed to be going well. They weren’t living together, but Loki had been hoping to change that soon. He wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her, to make her his wife.  He hadn’t said the exact words to Darcy, but he had been hinting around for a few months, trying to gauge what her reaction would be if he asked.  He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought that was what she wanted, too.

Two months ago, however, Darcy had gradually started to withdraw from him.  She was distant, unapproachable; she was quick to pick a fight with him whenever she could, making him feel like he had to walk on eggshells.  She was suddenly busy all the time, and started going out with other friends, ones that she didn’t want to introduce him to.  While she was still an enthusiastic bed partner, there was something that was missing, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.  Two or three weeks ago, she had even stopped telling him she loved him, merely saying “ditto” or saying something equally noncommittal.

She also had an extra key on her key ring, a key that had not been there before.    When Loki had asked about it, she said it was an extra key to Thor and Jane’s apartment, in case she needed to get something for Jane or check up on Jane when Thor was on a mission with the Avengers.  Loki knew that all of the apartments at Avengers Tower had electric locks, but let the lie stand for now.   

He didn’t want to believe she had betrayed him, he really didn’t.  He had already had so much betrayal in his life, had already had so many people that he loved let him down. 

Darcy was the one bastion between him and the madness, the darkness that lived inside him, constantly struggling to get out, to cause mayhem and chaos.  He didn’t know what he would do if she turned out to be like all the others that had promised to love him and then stabbed him in the back, literally or figuratively.

He resolved to find out the truth…no matter the consequences.

* * *

“I had a great time tonight, too,” Darcy said, balancing her cell phone on one shoulder as she stood in front of her apartment door and dug in her purse for her keys. 

“No, we’ve still got a few days until he gets back.  Some bad guy – okay, a worse guy – is blowing up London, and he and the Avengers had to go save the world again," Darcy continued.  She found her keys, inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door.

“That sounds great.  I’ll see you tomorrow night at eight.”  Darcy laughed at whatever the person on the other end of the line said and continued, “Yes, I know….I’ll wear the black lace for you, I promise.”

She smiled as she stuck the phone in her purse and stepped into her apartment.  She closed the door behind her and locked it, then fumbled for the light switch.  She could have sworn she had left at least the living room light on when she left, but she must have been wrong.

She went to put her purse on the table inside the door.   She didn’t know why, but for some reason, she felt compelled to look over to the couch.  Time seemed to slow, and her heart almost stopped.  Her purse fell out of her nerveless hands and onto the ground, the contents spilling out.

Loki was sitting on her couch, waiting for her.

“Hello, Darcy,” he said.  His voice was devoid of emotion when he spoke, his face was impassive, his eyes shuttered. He wasn’t wearing his battle armor, or even his leathers, having instead opted for a dark green suit, white shirt, dark green tie, and his signature green and gold houndstooth scarf. He appeared totally unruffled, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

Darcy's stomach dropped. It was impossible to tell how much, if any, of her phone conversation he had heard, but she knew it was probably more than enough to figure out she had been with someone else that night.

“Loki…” she replied weakly, "I thought you were supposed to be out of town a few more days. Did the mission end early?"

“Yes, we were able to capture the "worse guy" faster than we thought," he said, examining his nails instead of looking at her. "Who was on the phone?” 

They could have been discussing the weather, his voice was so neutral.

“No…no one,” she stammered.

He looked up at her then, raising an eyebrow. 

“Really?” he asked, “You know I can tell when people are lying, Darcy.”

Darcy wasn’t sure what to say at first.  She had been hoping to avoid this conversation. On some level, she did love Loki, but she didn't love him as much as he loved her. She knew from the hints he had dropped a few months ago that he saw them as having a future together soon. She was only 22, though, and she wasn't sure that she was ready for that level of commitment.

She had met James Moore at the local coffee shop one day. He was around her age, carefree; his main goal in life was to have fun, and that suited Darcy just fine. At first, they had just been friends, but then one night she had gone over to his place for coffee, and it turned into more than that. She had still intended for it to only be a one-time thing, but somehow it had turned into a two-month thing, instead.

She hadn't wanted to tell Loki the truth because she knew that he felt like he had been betrayed by people that loved him before, and she wasn't sure what he would do if he found out that she had betrayed him. He had been doing so well, not quite reformed, but he had been working with the Avengers on a regular basis, and had even started to form a fragile bond with Thor again. She had been afraid that telling him the truth would make him regress.

She had tried to take the coward's way out, to distance herself from Loki, hoping that he would break up with her, so she could avoid having to tell him about the affair...but she should have realized that he was too smart for that, that he would see through her.

“It was a...friend," she said, meaning to leave it at that, but ended up blurting out, "I’m having an affair."  She steeled herself for his reaction.

“Why.”  His voice was flat, and his face was finally showing some emotion, his eyes burning with rage.

 “It was too much, Loki.  You are so…intense, and we were moving so fast.  I wasn’t ready for it.  I wasn’t ready for any of this,” Darcy pleaded, “You wanted to get married, you wanted me to become immortal and spend the rest of eternity with you.”

“I’m not ready for that kind of commitment,” she repeated. “I’m still young, and I have so much I still want to do.”

“You couldn’t simply tell me that?” Loki asked. The temperature seemed to drop in the room, and she shivered as he continued, “You had to resort to _cheating_ on me, instead? How long has this been going on? I know it has been a couple of months, at least.”

Darcy sighed, then said "Yes, it's been a couple of months. We were just friends at first. He was so carefree, laid back...he didn't want or expect anything from me. It was only supposed to be once or twice...but things didn't turn out that way. I thought about telling you, I thought about breaking things off with you, of telling you that I needed a break...but I was afraid of your reaction, that you would feel that I had betrayed you, like everyone else in your life."

"I guess I was hoping that if I started to distance myself from you, you would break things off with me, and you would never find out. I'm sorry."

Her answer did not seem to appease Loki.

"You're not wrong about the betrayal part," he said, his face hardening.

Darcy could tell his anger was rising, that he was furious. She didn't think he would hurt her - she hoped he wouldn't - but she couldn't be positive of that, and she began to feel like she had to get out of there, get away from him, before he had the chance to do anything.

She desperately wished she had her taser.  She usually left it out on one of the end tables for sentimental value; after all, the fact she had tased Thor was one of the things that had first brought her and Loki together.   It was gone, however, and she had a feeling that she knew where it was.

“Looking for this?” Loki said, holding up the taser.  He waved his hand, and the taser disappeared, along with all hope that Darcy had to defend herself if he did decide to attack her.

She started to edge backwards, toward the door.

“Don’t.” Loki said.  She stopped, her heart racing.

Loki rose from the couch and stalked towards Darcy.  She backed up until she hit the wall.  She was trapped.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “Are you going to kill me?”

 “Oh, Darcy. I’m not going to kill you,” he said, moving closer to her, so close she could practically feel his breath on her lips.   

Darcy almost felt relieved, but it was short-lived. 

Loki touched her jaw in a mockery of a caress and continued, “You will live.  You will live to see the consequences of your actions, to know that this is your fault, that you could have prevented this.”

“Prevented what?” she stammered out.

Loki grinned at her.  It was the most frightening thing she had ever seen in her entire life.

“You’ll see,” he said. 

Darcy reached out to him, ready to beg him to forgive her, to say that she was wrong, that she didn’t mean it…but she only touched air.  Loki was already gone.

She sank down against the wall, tears streaming down her face.  She knew that she should get her phone off the floor, call the Avengers, call Thor, call her lover (who was the most likely person Loki was going to go after, she knew he would have somehow figured out who it was), call _someone_ …but she couldn’t find the will to move.    

_What had she done?_

* * *

The following morning, Darcy sat in the briefing room with the Avengers, taking notes while they discussed the mission they had just gotten back from.  The mission had been a success, and had ended much sooner than anticipated.  The Avengers were all looking forward to taking a few days of much needed R&R time. 

Darcy could not wait for the meeting to be over.  She was having problems concentrating.  Her hands were shaking as she tried to listen, to take notes.  Her heart was racing, and she felt like throwing up. 

She had spent the night before tossing and turning, unable to sleep.  She had tried to get in touch with Loki, but he wasn’t answering his cell phone.  She had also not been able to get ahold of James – she had even gone over to his place, but there was no sign of him.  Everything was as it had been when she left the night before, and there were no signs of a struggle, but that didn’t reassure her. 

She was going to tell Thor, or call the police, after this meeting was over, she resolved.  She couldn’t take not knowing anymore; not knowing what Loki was up to, where he was.

“Has anyone seen Loki this morning?” Tony asked, looking around the table.   

Darcy shook her head when his gaze fell on her, and Tony looked at her, frowning. 

“Do you know what’s going on with him?” Tony asked.  “He has been acting strange the last few weeks.  He’s tense, and seems on edge.  I know it’s none of my business, but is everything okay…at home?” 

“Tony,” Fury said warningly, clearly telling Tony that yes, it wasn’t any of his business, and he should let the subject drop.  Darcy held her breath, hoping it would work.

Tony being Tony, it didn’t.  He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when a SHIELD agent rushed into the room, his face white.  He ran over to Director Fury and whispered something in his ear, gesturing frantically.

“What?” Fury said when the agent was finished.  “Loki did WHAT?”  His voice was incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“What happened?” Thor said, his gaze sharp.  His body tensed, ready to fight.

Fury dismissed the agent and turned to the group.

“We just got word that Loki has apparently gone on some kind of a killing rampage.  He began with a guy named James Moore, whose body was found in Central Park.  He then seems to have continued with a few more people in the park, leaving the bodies out in plain view, where we couldn’t miss them.”

Darcy closed her eyes when she heard Fury say James Moore, her heart sinking. Her worst fears seemed to have come true.

“It’s my fault,” Darcy said.  She took a deep breath and continued, “I cheated on him.  He confronted me last night, and left in a rage.  I meant to say something…I just haven’t been able to yet, I was afraid of how you would react.”

“I didn’t know for sure he had done something!” she said, her voice defensive. “I thought maybe he just disappeared, and would come back later, and be fine!”  Her defense sounded flimsy even to her.

As one, all of the Avengers looked at Darcy, the expressions on their faces incredulous, with the exception of Thor.  Thor’s face ran through an entire range of emotions, from disbelief, to disappointment, and finally to anger.  He looked murderous for a second, but quickly got himself under control, stalking out of the room instead of saying anything to Darcy.

“You.did.what?” Tony bit out. 

“I cheated on Loki,” Darcy said again, her voice slightly stronger.  She couldn’t meet any of their eyes.

“Lewis, my office. _NOW_.” Directory Fury said, walking towards his office.

“Yes, sir,” Darcy said, picking up her notebook and following him.

* * *

Darcy was persona non grata with the Avengers and SHIELD after that day; the Avengers, especially Thor, blamed her for what had happened with Loki. It may not have been entirely fair, but to them, she had been the calming, stabilizing influence in Loki's life, and now that had been taken away, they felt it was partially her fault that he had snapped and fallen back into his old ways. As a result, she lost her job, and had to move out of Avengers tower.   She didn’t have a lot of money, so she was forced to move into a dinky one bedroom apartment in a bad part of town.  She got a job at a Starbucks as a barista, barely managing to scrape up enough money to make her first month’s rent.

Loki descended further and further into madness, into darkness, as the days passed.    Darcy saw the reports on the news at the coffee shop every morning, as the body count rose, as he went on a killing rampage.  He didn’t discriminate, killing young, old, poor, rich.  There seemed to be no pattern – he was killing just for the fun of killing.  He didn’t stick to just New York – he went to other cities in America, then branched out to places as far as London, Paris, Tokyo.  The news reports showed the Avengers trying to track him down, fighting him.  He always got away, slipping through their fingers.

Then, one morning, it was over.  The news said that the Avengers had taken Loki down.   Grainy footage was shown in which a shape, that she could tell was Thor from the massive bulk and the outline of a hammer, stood over a figure supine on the ground.  A horned helmet could be seen off to the left, making the identity of the figure obvious.  The news didn’t say if he was dead or alive; Darcy couldn’t tell from the footage, and she knew that if she called anyone at SHIELD, no one would tell her anything.  If he was alive, he would either be imprisoned by SHIELD, or more likely, taken back to Asgard to face a punishment even more dire than when he had tried to take over New York – perhaps even execution.

She ignored the customers waiting for their coffee.  She stepped away from the counter, walked into the main area of the coffee shop, and sank onto a couch and cried.  She cried for James, she cried for the people who had died...but more than anything, she cried for Loki. She had never wanted this to happen, and she hated that she'd had a part in it, no matter how small. Her coworkers tried to comfort her, to find out what was wrong, but she just shook her head and motioned for them to go away. 

She would give anything, _anything_ , to turn back time and undo the past. 

The fleeting moments of freedom, of passion, that she had felt during her affair had _not_ been worth the consequences.

_What had she done?_


End file.
